Johnny Carson's vintage interviews will air on TCM

Caption'Tonight Show' trio

UPI

It's rare that "Tonight Show" hosts get together like in this 1986 photo from "NBC's 60th Anniversary Celebration" that brought (from left) Steve Allen, Johnny Carson and Jack Paar in one room. Allen introduced the format that everyone now knows and follows (the couch, the celebrity guest,...

It's rare that "Tonight Show" hosts get together like in this 1986 photo from "NBC's 60th Anniversary Celebration" that brought (from left) Steve Allen, Johnny Carson and Jack Paar in one room. Allen introduced the format that everyone now knows and follows (the couch, the celebrity guest,... (UPI)

Think Jay Leno came up with those Jaywalking bits on his own? Original "Tonight" host Steve Allen popularized the man-on-the-street idea, except he brought in actual comedians who were in on the jokes. This routine carried over to "The Steve Allen Show," a competitor of "The Ed Sullivan Show."

Think Jay Leno came up with those Jaywalking bits on his own? Original "Tonight" host Steve Allen popularized the man-on-the-street idea, except he brought in actual comedians who were in on the jokes. This routine carried over to "The Steve Allen Show," a competitor of "The Ed Sullivan Show." (Internet Fair Use)

Ed Ames was supposedly an expert with the tomahawk, thanks to his role as Mingo on the "Daniel Boone" show. As if throwing sharp objects in an audience-filled studio wasn't dangerous enough, Ames attempted the stunt with a hatchet instead. Aiming for a chalk cowboy outline, Ames threw, hitting...

Ed Ames was supposedly an expert with the tomahawk, thanks to his role as Mingo on the "Daniel Boone" show. As if throwing sharp objects in an audience-filled studio wasn't dangerous enough, Ames attempted the stunt with a hatchet instead. Aiming for a chalk cowboy outline, Ames threw, hitting... (Carson Entertainment)

Animal handlers Joan Embry and Jim Fowler were return guests who brought exotic animals like baby bears, orangutans and marmosets to the "Tonight Show" set. Although the animals were drawn to the late-night comic, often crawling across his desk and shoulders and even atop his head, he seemed to...

Animal handlers Joan Embry and Jim Fowler were return guests who brought exotic animals like baby bears, orangutans and marmosets to the "Tonight Show" set. Although the animals were drawn to the late-night comic, often crawling across his desk and shoulders and even atop his head, he seemed to... (Carson Entertainment)

Johnny Carson never shied away from playing dress up, introducing numerous characters during his 30-year tenure. Aunt Blabby, Art Fern, El Mouldo and more became great go-to players, but it was Carnac the Magnificent who may be his most popular creation. With his colorful turban and cape,...

Johnny Carson never shied away from playing dress up, introducing numerous characters during his 30-year tenure. Aunt Blabby, Art Fern, El Mouldo and more became great go-to players, but it was Carnac the Magnificent who may be his most popular creation. With his colorful turban and cape,... (Associated Press)

Twenty-one years after the King of Late Night retired from NBC's "The Tonight Show," Johnny Carson is back on television, thanks to Turner Classic Movies' new weekly series, "Carson on TCM," which premieres at 5 p.m. Monday.

TCM will air selected interviews this month featuring some of the biggest stars who appeared during Carson's 30 years behind the desk at "The Tonight Show." Most of these interviews have not been seen in their entirety since they originally aired.

Unabashed Carson fan Conan O'Brien, the host of TBS' late-night "Conan" series whose short-lived stint as the host of "The Tonight Show" ended in 2010, emcees the 25 interviews that will be shown. They include a debonair Fred Astaire in a 1979 chat, one of Henry Fonda's last TV interviews from 1980, a wild 1981 encounter with Robin Williams, and a flirtatious Elizabeth Taylor, who made her only appearance on the show in 1992.

The highlights of Monday's premiere episode feature Carson making 7-year-old Drew Barrymore feel so at home in a 1982 interview that she takes out her bridge to reveal her missing front teeth. Tough guy Kirk Douglas lets down his guard when Carson asks him about his affairs in a freewheeling 1988 interview.

Though there have been many successful late-night hosts since Carson's era — including Jay Leno, who took over the reins from Carson and will be relinquishing them next year to Jimmy Fallon — nobody has really duplicated the magic that made Carson, who died in 2005 at age 79, so special.

"The thing about Carson is that he had all the exemplary skills needed for a late-night host," said Ron Simon, curator of the Paley Center for Media in New York City. "Everyone who has followed has skills, but they don't have every skill. Probably the most difficult skill is the ability to interview someone and be passionate about it and elicit responses you haven't heard before. Carson was a master of that."

Charlie Tabesh, TCM's senior vice president of programming, who grew up watching Carson, said that he's developed a mythical aura.

"Nobody could touch him," he said. "He was the only late-night game in town."

One of Tabesh's favorite interviews, airing July 15, is a 1975 visit with Ronald Reagan, who had just completed his two terms as governor of California.

"He's obviously a movie star — we feature him on TCM — but he doesn't talk about movies at all," said Tabesh. "He talks about politics. He's sort of laying his platform [for the presidency] out there. It's interesting to see that as a time capsule."

Peter Jones, who produced the 2012 "American Masters" documentary "Johnny Carson: King of Late Night," approached TCM about doing a series of extended Carson interviews.

"Johnny Carson was a big fan of TCM," Jones said.

"After watching so many of the interviews [for the documentary], I thought people needed to see Johnny doing what he did best," he said.

"What came out of Johnny Carson's mouth was truly a reaction to what he had just heard," Jones said. "He was absolutely in the moment with the person he was talking to. Over and over, people told me when I interviewed them they did forget about the camera, the audience of 500 and the audience of 15 million on TV when they were talking to this guy who made them feel so comfortable."

The series is a joint effort between Jones and Jeff Sotzing, Carson's nephew, who is the president of Carson Entertainment Group, which controls Carson's archive.

Hollywood superstars interviewed on "Carson on TCM" Kirk Douglas The renowned actor talked about his autobiography with Carson in 1988. Elizabeth Taylor A few months before his last show in 1992, the beloved actress joined him for a chat. Fred Astaire The song-and-dance great graced "The...

A story about people who love one another made by people who clearly love one another, "Parks and Recreation" ended its seven-season, zigzag run through prime time Tuesday night on NBC. In the final shot, star Amy Poehler, as public servant Leslie Knope, faced the camera, all aglow, and...